CRIS 306 Complex Trauma and Disasters: Offering Spiritual Care

This course will examine the role of faith-based organizations, faith communities, and pastors and clergy in the care of emotional and spiritual health in individuals, communities, and organizations following trauma and disaster. Specifically, topics will include the life cycle of a disaster, exclusive types of trauma and disasters, models of response for faith-based communities, collaborative efforts between mental health professionals and faith-based services, and other salient factors for effective emotional and spiritual care.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Disasters and trauma are inevitable, and research has consistently shown that many people turn to the church or faith community for help. In fact, some studies have shown that most people will not only turn first, but in many cases only to spiritual care providers. In fact, in a 2001 survey by the American Red Cross only one month after 9/11, nearly 60 percent of those polled were likely or very likely to turn to a spiritual leader for help, whereas only 40 percent were likely or very likely to turn to a mental health professional. The need for pastors/ clergy to have a collaborative and planned response to crises and disaster cannot be understated for the emotional and spiritual health of the individuals, congregations, communities, and organizations they serve.

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (4)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will post a thread in response to the provided prompt for each Discussion. Each thread must be a minimum of 400 words and include a Christian worldview or biblical theme, with at least 1 Scriptural reference. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 1 other classmate’s thread. Each reply must be a minimum of 200 words. Each thread and reply must address the topic in a clear and concise fashion, using outside sources (quotes from the course textbooks, other books, and/or journal articles) as needed to support the student’s point. Each thread and reply must contain at least 1 citation of an outside source published within the last 5-years and cited in APA format. (CLO: A, B, D, E, G, I)

Video Discussion: Video Presentation of Your Disaster Response Plan to Your Peers

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will prepare a short video or audio file, 3 minutes or less, on the disaster and response plan that they choose to respond to. The student will present his/her plan to classmates and support assertations with citations and references from at lest 2 scholarly sources and 1 biblical integration. The student will also provide feedback to a classmate on his/her plants in a video reply of at least 1 minute. The reply video must incorporate citations and references from at least 1 scholarly source. Acceptable sources include the Bible, journal articles (published within the last 5 years), and books and must be cited in current APA format. (CLO: A, B, D, E, G, I)

Wellness and Self-Care Plan Assignment

The student will turn in a 1–2-page reflection paper (in current APA format with title page and reference page) describing his/her plan on maintaining spiritual, emotional, and physical wellness. The paper must use 3 sources (1 can be the Bible) cited in APA format. (CLO: A, E, F)

Disaster Response Research Assignment

The Disaster Response Research Assignment is a research assignment on disaster that has occurred in the area that the student resides in or is choosing to write about. The student will research the frequency, cost, and challenges for a particular type of disaster and will then write a 3–4 page (not including the title page and reference page) paper in current APA format identifying the necessary components of a disaster response plan. The paper should include 3–4 sources from journal articles from the last 5-years, the course textbooks, or books from the last 10-years. The student should utilize the Disaster Response Research Template to ensure all required areas have been addressed. The student will then formulate a response plan to this type of disaster in their Disaster Response Plan Assignment. (CLO: B, C, D)

Disaster Response Plan Assignment

The assignment is this module will help the student apply the knowledge that they learned and researched in the Disaster Response Research Assignment, as well as disaster response components throughout the course. Within the disaster response plan the student will:  describe the stages of disaster response, apply the Incident Command System to disaster response, outline specific interventions and assessments, discuss collaboration with various organizations (Red Cross, FEMA, etc), and address cultural considerations. This can be done through a chart, response map, or PowerPoint (limited to 15 slides).  (CLO: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I).

Quizzes (4)

There will be 4 quizzes over the assigned reading materials found in the Learn section. Each quiz includes 18 or 20 questions which may include multiple-choice, true/false, matching, select all that apply, or fill-in-the-blank questions. Each quiz is open-book/open-notes and contains a 30-minute time limit. Only by becoming familiar with the material in advance, will the quizzes be completed successfully. Time begins when the quiz is opened, and multiple attempts are not allowed. The questions are selected at random, so each quiz will vary in its content. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I)